Kingston needs comprehensive transport plan
NTHE EDITOR, Sir:
EWS OF the widening of the road networks in Kingston is extremely welcome, particularly the troublesome areas like Hagley Park Road, Constant Spring Road, Mandela Highway and Barbican Road. Many of these projects are long overdue, as the number of vehicles in the city and her environs has increased exponentially over the decades.
We have also seen a growth in the number of apar tment developments, and with plans for more multi-storey apartment complexes, the gridlock will only become worse and the benefits that should be gained from widening of these thoroughfares will be lost.
The major problem we fail to see is that Kingston is not a commuterfriendly city. Public transport within the city is unsatisfactory, with the Jamaica Urban Transit Company unable to keep a schedule or a profit, and taxi operators in a perpetual cat-and-mouse game with the police and the Transport Authority.
Our taxi men, for instance, have historically been treated as the rejects of the public transportation system, with many having to resort to using petrol stations as taxi parks (which is a traffic violation) or being subject to extortion by the so-called ‘loader men’, who require $100 for pointing commuters during rush hour to the cab they had intended to enter.
CULTURE OF INDISCIPLINE
This lack of attention to infrastructure has contributed to the culture of indiscipline and sexual harassment of our women on Kingston’s streets. This lack of investment or even care for an efficient, safe and orderly public transportation for the most vulnerable, such as persons with disability, the elderly and young children, has caused great pain and has contributed to more persons opting to hop behind their own wheel and join the long queues stretching for hours, rather than putting up with a disorderly and abusive transportation system.
There needs to be an assessment of the city’s transportation plan and an improvement in facilities provided for our taxi operators, who play a vital role in the transportation sector. City planners and policymakers should make Kingston more pedestrian-friendly, expand the modes of transpor tation, build more mixed-use communities to reduce commuting, and impose fines on motorists whose vehicles have visible exhaust coming from their tailpipes.
These are some steps we could take to have a city we can all be proud of.